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1
Public Offices,
Enfield.
29th November, 1940.
Annual Report of the Medical
Officer of Health, 1939.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council of
Enfield.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to place before you my Annual Report for 1939. For
reasons of economy, both in time and paper, it has been considerably
abridged.
Until the outbreak of war the work of the department continued
on normal and progressive lines. After September 3rd the whole
of the efforts of the department were concentrated on building up
an efficient A.R.P. Casualty Service, only such time being applied
to the routine work of the department as was absolutely essential.
To this effort and the help I have received from the Doctors of
Enfield and the St. John Ambulance Brigade is due the credit for
such success and praise as the service has had on the occasions when
it has been called out for duty.
1939 was a very healthy year; it will be noticed that there
was not one death due to Diphtheria or Scarlet Fever, whilst the
infant mortality rate was 35.07 per 1,000. I have traced back the
records to 1888 and the nearest approach to this figure is 43.27 in
1934 and 44.22 in 1924. It is probable that this is the lowest infantile
death rate that Enfield has ever had.
War conditions of necessity conduce to the spread of disease.
Lack of exercise, overcrowding and the blackout all tend to lower
resistance to infection. It is therefore essential that the population
should avail itself of every possible means of obtaining immunity
from disease.
In this connection I would especially mention immunisation
against Diphtheria which is now possible, and urge parents in Enfield
to see that their children are immunised, and thus to wipe out the